90s act Weezer were on the fast track to be alternative rock heroes as early as their 1994 debut The Blue Album, which introduced bouncy power-pop vibes and emotional openness to the grunge-dominated rock music scene, and earned massive commercial success and critical acclaim for the band. This very nearly all went out the window with their follow-up, 1996's Pinkerton, which neither sold well nor was reviewed well. (Though would later go on to be a major influence in the development of emo
...See More music, and be praised years later.)

This immediate shift in fortunes spooked frontman and primary songwriter Rivers Cuomo, who after a band hiatus came back with material that was commercially successful, but leaned more heavily away from introspective alt songs, in favor of imminently more accessible pop rock, their reviews growing ever more middling as new records hit shelves.

In 2005 Weezer released their 5th record, Make Believe, which was intended to be a return to the heartfelt songwriting of the Blue Album and Pinkerton days, but would receive mixed reviews for its over-simplistic songs, and would come to be defined not just as one of the band's worst records, but a tipping point into frustrating mediocrity, which the band never quite recovered from.

On this episode of Jukebox Zeroes, Lilz & Patrick are joined by return guest Al Gentile of Analogs, and new guest and Weezer expert Taylor Keefe of Shoeless Thunder to try to find some solace in Make Believe. Join us for discussions on Rick Rubin, arachnophobia, and Shrek 2.